Audio monitored vehicle headlight circuit

ABSTRACT

A vehicle headlight circuit including high and low beam filaments selectively energized by a dimmer switch having a pair of output terminals coupled respectively thereto. A first set of normally open auxiliary contacts is series connected with one of the output terminals, a first audio oscillator operating at a first frequency and a speaker. A second set of normally open auxiliary contacts is series connected with the other output terminal, a second audio oscillator operating at a second frequency and the speaker. An actuator on the dimmer switch is effective for closing the first and second sets of normally open auxiliary contacts upon partial actuation of the dimmer switch to energize one of the oscillators to provide an audio indication of high or low beam filament energization.

United States Patent [1 1 McIntosh [4 Nov. 20, 1973 AUDIO MONITORED VEHICLE HEADLIGHT CIRCUIT [75] Inventor: Duane E. McIntosh, Palmyra, Wis.

[73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich.

[22] Filed: Oct. 16, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 297,918

[52] US. Cl. 340/52 R, 315/83, 340/75, 340/384 E [51] Int. Cl B60q H14 [58] Field of Search 315/77, 83; 340/52 R, 62, 75, 76, 384 E [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,579,292 12/1951 Brelsford .L 340/62 2,734,181 2/1956 Warneck..... 340/62 X 2,787,778 4/1957 Mulrooney 340/75 2,910,688 10/1959 Kelley et al. 340/384 E 3,493,966 2/1970 Human 340/384 E 3,671,802 6/1972 Ballou 315/83 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 326,072 l/l958 Switzerland 340/74 Primary Examiner-Kenneth N. Leirner Attorney-C. R. Meland et al.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A vehicle headlight circuit including high and low beam filaments selectively energized by a dimmer switch having a pair of output terminals coupled respectively thereto. A first set of normally open auxili- 2 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure OSCILLATOR OSCILLATOR PMENTEflunvzo I975 OSCILLATOR OSCILLATOR I AUDIO MONITORED VEHTCLE HEADLIGHT CIRCUIT This invention relates toa vehicle headlamp beam condition indicator and, more specifically, this invention relates to an audible beam condition indicator in which an audible signal representative of the high or low beam condition is provided.

Conventional headlamp beam condition indicators provide a visual indication which represents the low or high beam condition of the vehicle beam. For example,

when the vehicle headlamps are on high beam, a light is continually illuminated to provide information of this condition to the vehicle operator. As opposed to this form of indicator, it is the general object of this invention to provide an audible indication of the condition of the vehicle headlamp beam.

It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus for generating an audible signal of a first frequency when the vehicle headlamps are on low beam and for generating an audible signal of a second frequency when the vehicle headlamps are on high beam.

it is another object of this invention to provide an audible headlamp beam indicator in which an audibleindication of the high or low beam condition of the vehicle headlamps is provided upon the partial actuation of the vehicle headlamp dimmer switch.

These and other objects ofthis invention may be better understood by reference to the following descrip tion of a preferred embodiment and the single figured drawing which is a schematic of the preferred embodiment of this invention. V

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a vehicle headlamp lighting circuit for energizing the left high beam filaments 10, the right high beam filaments 12, the left low beam filament l4 and the right low beam filament 16. The left and right high beam filaments The dimmer switch assembly includes an actuating shell 28 which is biased in an upward or neutral position by a spring 30. The actuating shell 28 is mechanically associated with a contact member 32, which either couples the input terminal 26 to the output terminal 18 or the output terminal 22, such that when the actuating shell 28 is fully depressed, the contact member 32 is moved to couple the input terminal 26 to the other one of the output terminals 18 or 22. Repeated 'actuations of the actuating shell 28 function to alternately connect the input terminal 26 to the output terminals l8 and 22. The switching elements of the dimmer switch assembly 20 including the contact member 32 and input terminal 26 and the output terminals 18 and 22 can take the form of a ratcheting mechanism operated by the depression of the actuating shellx28 or any other of the well known forms of dimmer switches. As can be seen, when thelight switch 27 is closed, the

leftand righthigh beamfilaments wand 12 or theleft and right low beam filaments l4 and l6areselectively energized by the actuation of the actuating shell 28 to position the contact member-32 to engage the output terminal 18 or 22 toapply thepotential of the voltage source 24 across the respective filaments 10 and; 12 or 14 and 16.

To provide for an audible indication of which of the high or low beam filaments l0 and. 12 or 14 and 16 are energized, an oscillator 34 and an oscillator 36 are provided. The oscillator 34 is responsive to an applied voltage for generating an alternating signal having a frequency F in the audible frequency range and the oscillator 36 is responsive to an applied voltage for, generating an alternating signal having a frequency F in the audible frequency range. The oscillators 34, and 36 are of conventional design and, consequently, will not be described in greater detail.

A switch assembly 38 includes a first set of normally open contacts 40 connected between the output terminal 22 of the dimmer switch assembly 20. and the input of the oscillator 34. The switch assembly 38 also includes a set of normally open contacts 42 connected between the output terminal 18 of the dimmer switch assembly 20 and the input of the oscillator 36. The outputs of the oscillators34 and 36 are coupled together and an audio speaker' 44 is coupled between the outputs of the oscillators 34 and 36 and ground. The speaker .44 is positioned within the vehicle compartment so that the vehicle operator can readily hear the audio output. thereof. I

The dimmer switch 20 includes an actuating member 46 secured thereto which is operatively associated with the switch assembly 38 so as to close the sets of normally open contacts and 42 upon a partial depression of the actuating shell 28, the partial depression beinginsufficient for shifting the contacting member 32 between the output terminals 18 and 22. When the light switch 27 is closed, the left and right low beam filaments l4 and 16 are energized if the contactor 32 is in engagement with the output terminal 22 and the left and right high beam filaments 1t] and 12 are energized when the contactor 32 engages the output terminal 18. In order to determine whether the left and right high beam filaments l0 and 12 or the left and right low beam filaments l4 and 16 are energized, the vehicle operator partially depresses the actuating shell 28 sufficiently to close the sets of normally open contacts 40 and 42 but insufficient for shifting the contact member 32 between the output terminals 118 and 22. Upon the closure of the sets, of normally open contacts 40 and 42, the potential of the voltage source 24 is applied to the input of the oscillator 34 if the contact member 32 is in engagement with the output terminal 22 and is applied to the input of the oscillator 36 when the contact member 32 is in engagement with the output terminal 18. if the left and right low beam filaments l4 and .16 are energized, the oscillator 34 is energized by the power applied to the input thereof to supply a signal having the frequency F, to the audiospeaker44 which emitsan audible sound having the=frequency F to .indi- .cate .thatthe left and ,right low beam filaments l4 and 16 are energized. If the .left and. right high beam filaments 10 and 12 are energized, the oscillator 36 isenergized .by the power applied to the input thereof and supplies a signal having the frequency F fto the,audio speaker 44 which emits an audible sound having the frequency F to indicate that the highbeam filaments l0 and 12 are energized. The frequencies F, and F are sufficiently spaced so as to be readily distinguishable by the vehicle operator.

Although the normally open switch assembly 38 is shown to be external to the dimmer switch and actuated by an actuator 46 secured to the dimmer switch 20, it is understood that the normally open switch assembly 38 can be mounted internal of the dimmer switch assembly and in fact could be a portion or a modification of the ratcheting assembly comprising the contact member 32 and the output terminals 18 and 22.

The detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention for the purpose of explaining the principles thereof is not to be considered as limiting or restricting the invention, since many modifications may be made by the exercise of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. An audio headlight beam indicator for an automotive vehicle comprising: an automotive vehicle power source; a manually operable light switch; high and low beam headlamp filaments; a headlamp beam control switch having a power input terminal coupled to the vehicle power source through the manually operable light switch, first and second power output terminals coupled respectively to the high and low beam filaments, a contact member shiftable between the power output terminals for electrically bridging the power input terminal and one of the power output terminals to selectively energize the high or low beam headlamp filaments when the light switch is operated and a manually operable member movable from a neutral position to an actuated position to shift the contact member from one of the power output terminals to the other of the power output terminals to shift between high and low headlight beams; a first audio oscillator responsive to power supplied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F,; a second audio oscillator responsive to power supplied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F an audio speaker coupled to the first and second audio oscillators and responsive to the signals generated thereby for emitting an audible sound corresponding to the frequencies F, and F thereof; means responsive to the movement of the manually operable member out of the neutral position towards the actuated position when the high beam filaments are energized for supplying power from the power source to the first oscillator; and means responsive to the movement of the manually operable member out of the neutral position towards the actuated position when the low beam filaments are energized for supplying power from the power source to the second oscillator, whereby the first audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F, when the high beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position and the second audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F when the low beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position, the audio signals representing the headlamp beam condition.

2. An audio headlight beam indicator for an automotive vehicle comprising: an automotive vehicle power source; a manually operable light switch; high and low beam headlamp filaments; a headlamp beam control switch having a power input terminal coupled to the vehicle power source through the manually operable light switch, first and second power output terminals coupled respectively to the high and low beam filaments, a contact member shiftable between the power output terminals for electrically bridging the power input terminal and one of the power output terminals for selectively energizing the high or low beam headlamp filaments when the light switch is operated and a manually operable member movable from a neutral position to an actuated position to shift the contact member from one of the power output terminalsto the other of the power output terminals to shift between high and low headlight beams; a first series circuit coupled to the first power output terminal, said first series circuit including a normally open switch, a first audio oscillator responsive to power applied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F, and an audio speaker; 21

second series circuit coupled to the second power terminal, the second series circuit including a second normally open switch, a second audio oscillator responsive to power applied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F and the audio speaker; and means responsive to the movement of the manually operable member out of the neutral position towards the actuated position for closing the first and second normally open switches, whereby the first audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F, when the high beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position and the second audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F when the low beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position, the audio signals representing the headlamp beam condition.

l1 I l 

1. An audio headlight beam indicator for an automotive vehicle comprising: an automotive vehicle power source; a manually operable light switch; high and low beam headlamp filaments; a headlamp beam control switch having a power input terminal coupled to the vehicle power source through the manually operable light switch, first and second power output terminals coupled respectively to the high and low beam filaments, a contact member shiftable between the power output terminals for electrically bridging the power input terminal and one of the power output terminals to selectively energize the high or low beam headlamp filaments when the light switch is operated and a manually operable member movable from a neutral position to an actuated position to shift the contact member from one of the power output terminals to the other of the power output terminals to shift between high and low headlight beams; a first audio oscillator responsive to power supplied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F1; a second audio oscillator responsive to power supplied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F2; an audio speaker coupled to the first and second audio oscillators and responsive to the signals generated thereby for emitting an audible sound corresponding to the frequencies F1 and F2 thereof; means responsive to the movement of the manually operable member out of the neutral position towards the actuated position when the high beam filaments are energized for supplying power from the power source to the first oscillator; and means responsive to the movement of the manually operable member out of the neutral position towards the actuated position when the low beam filaments are energized for supplying power from the power source to the second oscillator, whereby the first audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F1 when the high beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position and the second audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F2 when the low beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position, the audio signals representing the headlamp beam condition.
 2. An audio headlight beam indicator for an automotive vehicle comprising: an automotive vehicle power source; a manually operable light switch; high and low beam headlamp filaments; a headlamp beam control switch having a power input terminal coupled to the vehicle power source through the manually operable light switch, first and second power output terminals coupled respectively to the high and low beam filaments, a contact member shiftable between the power output terminals for electrically bridging the power input terminal and one of the power output terminals for selectively energizing the high or low beam headlamp filaments when the light switch is operated and a manually operable member movable from a neutral position to an actuated position to shift the contact member from one of the power output terminals to the other of the power output terminals to shift between high and low headlight beams; a first series circuit coupled to the first power output terminal, said first series circuit including a normally open switch, a first audio oscillator responsive to power applied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F1 and an audio speaker; a second series circuit coupled to the second power terminal, the second series circuit including a second normally open switch, a second audio oscillator responsive to power applied thereto for generating a signal having a frequency F2 and the audio speaker; and means responsive to the movement of the manually operable member out of the neutral position towards the actuated position for closing the first and second normally open switches, whereby the first audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F1 when the high beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position and the second audio oscillator and the audio speaker cooperate to provide an audio signal having the frequency F2 when the low beam filaments are energized and the manually operable member is moved from its neutral position toward its actuated position, the audio signals representing the headlamp beam condition. 